Burt Bacharach may be a pop genius with a host of Grammys, Oscars and chart-toppers under his belt, but his theatrical record is spotty.
His 1968 musical, “Promises, Promises,” did well enough, but Bacharach didn’t attempt a follow-up until 2011’s “Some Lovers” — and that show hasn’t even reached New York yet.
Attempts at stringing his songs into a jukebox have been even spottier, with “The Look of Love” limping through a limited Broadway run in 2003.
Now, 25-year-old whippersnapper Kyle Riabko hopes to introduce the California silver fox to a new generation with the revue “What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined.”
Riabko has “reimagined” the composer’s catalog by basically turning half the songs into pared-down, emotive confessionals and the other half into guitar-laced rockers.
The second approach is a horror.
Bacharach’s infernally catchy melodies are as tightly constructed as Rubik’s Cubes, leaving no room for howling Gibsons and extraneous la-la-la’s. The medley of “Message to Michael” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” is a back-lit rumble punctuated by dramatic posturing.
Riabko and his six-person ensemble — they all sing and play various instruments — do a lot better when they take things down a notch.
Our fearless arranger often ends up in the spotlight, but it’s Nathaly Lopez we want to hear more from. Her pleading, unadorned “Don’t Make Me Over” is the devastating high point of the show.
Bacharach’s songs are deceptively simple — try to sing “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” in the shower and see what happens — but overall the young cast doesn’t fall on its collective face.
What keeps “What’s It All About?” from being a straight concert is its staging. Steven Hoggett — the choreographer of shows as diverse as “Once” and the new “The Glass Menagerie” revival — is great at making nondancers move in interesting ways. He succeeds again here, making the musicians perform synchronized steps or having them sing on rotating turntables. They often sound like a bunch of buskers, but at least they don’t look like them.
That is, until the encore.
After the curtain call, the cast rushes out into the street to serenade the departing audience with “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” That may be worth an extra buck or two, especially if it happens to be raining.